Automatic bobbin transfer device



Dec. 11, 1962 R. F. BAER AUTOMATIC BOBBIN TRANSFER DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Sept. 9, 1960 ATT RNEY Dec. 11, 1962 R.' F. BAER AUTOMATICBOBBIN TRANSFER DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 9, 1960 INVENTOR F.Boer Russel BY wrzqym ATTO NEY some? Patented Dec. 11, 1962 Fice3,067,567 AU'IQMATIC BOBBIN TRANSFER DEVICE Russel F. Baer, Decatur,Ala., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Monsanto Chemical Company, acorporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 55,070 9 Claims.(Cl. 57-54) This invention relates to an automatic bobbin transferdevice and more particularly to a device for the automatic transfer ofyarn from a full bobbin to an empty bobbin as the yarn is being wound ona drawtwist machine.

In the present day drawtwisting operations wherein yarn is passed from afeed bobbin through various guiding or drawing means and thence througha traveler ring and onto the drawtwist bobbin, it is necessary when thedrawtwist bobbin becomes full to halt the feed of the yarn while thefull bobbin is removed and replaced by an empty one. The operator mustthen, by hand, restring the yarn in its path of travel over draw rollersand pins onto the empty bobbin in order to start the winding operationagain. Even with highly skilled operators, there is a considerable lagbetween the removal of a full bobbin and the replacement thereof by anempty bobbin because of the above required hand operations. Suchnon-productive time, of course, represents a considerable economic loss.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus forautomatically dofiing bobbins on a drawtwist machine wherein the yarntravel is transferred from a full to an empty bobbin without requiringthe cessation of the yarn feed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such an apparatuswhich is relatively inexpensive, safe and efficient.

The invention in its preferred form comprises a turntable upon theopposite sides of which are rotatably mounted the bobbins to be filledwith yarn. Means are provided to continuously rotate these bobbins whilethe turntable upon which they are mounted is vertically reciprocated sothat the bobbins move in a traversing relationship to a fixed travelerring which is algned about one of said bobbins. When the bobbin becomesfull the reciprocation is halted while the turntable is rotated to placethe empty bobbin in operational relationship with the traveler ring.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the seme becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a side elevational view partly in section of a preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a side elevational view of the apparatus similar toFIGURE 1 at a different stage of the operation; and

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral indicates a turntableassembly which includes a base support 12 and a cover plate 14. Unitedto the bottom of the base support 12 is a base plate 16 having sockets17 and 17. A ring gear 19 is secured to the bottom of the base support12, so that the teeth thereof extend somewhat beyond the peripheral edgeof the base support (FIGURE 3).

Reference numeral 20 indicates a pinion mounted on a shaft 21 and drivenby a transfer motor 22. The pinion 20 is adapted to engage the ring gear19 for rotation of the entire turntable assembly.

Associated with the turntable assembly there are two groups of elementsof identical structure, one of which groups appears on the left side ofthe drawing and the other of which groups appears on the right side ofthe drawing. For the sake of simplicity and clarity the referencenumerals used to describe the elements on the left side of the drawing(FIGURES 1 and 3) will also be used to denote the corresponding elementson the right side of the drawing with the addition of a prime notation.In FIGURE 2, the relative position of some of the elements has beenreversed, but all elements retain the same reference numerals employedin FIGURE 1.

Reference numerals 24 and 24' indicate shafts which are journaled withinbearings 26 and 26' and which shafts support and are keyed to drivengears 28 and 28'. Reference numerals 30 and 30' denote conical apexes ofthe shafts 24 and 24'.

Reference numeral 32 indicates a central elongated pinion or toothedshaft which is supported on a shaft 34 which is driven by a motor 36.The top part of the shaft 34 extending above the central pinion ortoothed shaft 32 is journaled within a bearing 38, which bearing islocated within a bearing support arm 40. It will be noted that the motor36 and the transfer motor 22 are mounted on the machine frame base,which is indicated by the reference numeral 41.

Reference numerals 42 and 42' denote bobbins which are mounted onspindle assemblies or bobbin holders 44 and 44', said spindle assembliesbeing adapted to engage the shaft apexes 30 and 30' so as to be rotatedby the shafts 24 and 24'.

Reference numerals 46 and 46' denote reciprocating rods connected topistons within air cylinders 47 and 47'. The air cylinders are shownfragmenfarily since the particular structure and arrangement of thefluid conduits and valves are conventional and, as such, form no part ofthe present invention. Nevertheless, means are provided so that saidrods 46 and 46' may be moved from a lowermost nonreciprocating ortransfer pcsition (FIGURE 2) to a raised reciprocating or cperativeposition as shown in FIGURE 1. In this latter position, the path ofreciprocation is of such a length as to permit the bobbin 42' totraverse a traveler ring 48 within the area covered by a yarn package49.

Attached to the top of the rods 46 and 46 is an annular plate 50 havingan upwardly extending side flange 51. Also extending upwardly from theannular plate 50 are stop pins 52 and 52 which are adapted for insertioninto the sockets 17 and 17' so as to prevent rotation of the turntableassembly during the reciprocating movement (FIGURE 1). Referencenumerals 54 and 54 indicate depressions in the face of the machine framebase 41 to accommodate the top flange sections 53 and 53' of the rods 46and 46' when the rods are at their lowermost position (FIGURE 2).

Reference numerals 56 and 56 indicate solenoids which are mounted onopposite sides of the turntable cover plate 14 by brackets 58 and S8.Bifurcated fingers 6t] and 60 extend from the solenoids (FIGURE 3) andare sloped or beveled in such a manner so as to lift and disengage thespindle assemblies 44 and 44 from the shaft apexes 30 and 30' when thesolenoids are actuated. FIG- URE 1 shows the solenoid 56 so actuated.

As stated, the reference numeral 49 denotes a yarn package which iswound on the bobbin 4 The thread line, indicated by the referencenumeral 64, descends from the feed bobbin and other guide elements (notshown) before it passes through a traveler 66 which is mounted forrotation about the traveler ring 48 in the conventional manner. Thetraveler ring is mounted on a portion 70 of the machine frame so that itis stationary with regard to the bobbin reciprocating within it.

aoesgeev Reference numeral 71 denotes rollers which are mounted uponspacer supports 72 affixed to the machine frame base 41 by bolts 73 andnuts 74. Three of these assemblies are spaced at equidistant pointsbeneath the turntable assembly to prevent the turntable assembly fromdescending to a lower position than is illustrated in FIG- URE 2. Inthis position the pinion 20 engages the, ring gear 19 to rotate theturntable assembly supported through the ring gear 1'? on the rollers71'.

In the operation of the apparatus disclosed, the startup is commenced byenergizing the motor 36 to rotate the elongated central pinion ortoothed shaft 32, which moves the gears 28 and 28 and thereby thebobbins 42 and 42'. The air-cylinder system is actuated to reciprocatethe rods 46' and 46 which reciprocate the turntable assembly it? mountedthereon and. thence the rotating bobbins 42 and 42. The operation of theair cylinders is controlled by well-known apparatus, illustrateddiagrammatically at 77,

which is connected to the air cylinders by pipes 78 andv 79 (FIGURE 1).As pointed out above, the path of reciprocation is so arranged that thethread line 64 which isledon to the bobbin 42" by'the operator willtravel the distance covered by the yarn package 49 illustrated on thebobbin 42'.

After a predetermined time or when the yarn package has reached theproper size, the reciprocation of the rods 46 and 46' is halted and theyare completely depressed from their normal reciprocating path to theposition shown in FIGURE 2. It will be seen in this figure that theturntable is held by the rollers 71 in such a position that the pinion2b engages the ring gear 19. The motor 22 is then actuated to rotate thepinion 2th for a predetermined time and thereby move the turntableassembly 180", the ring gear 19 sliding along the rollers 71. With theturntable depressed to the position shown in FIGURE 2 and rotated 180,the empty bobbin 42 shown on the left side in FIGURE 1 is now on theright side shown in EEG- URE 2. The thread line 64 descending throughthe traveler 66 then passes across the central pinion 32 to the stillrotating full bobbin 44. At this time, reciprocation of the aircylinders is commenced whereby pins 52 and 52 are, inserted into sockets17 and T7 to lock the turntable assembly against rotation, and theturntable assembly lifted to reciprocating position once more. The

thread line, now commences winding on the bobbin 42' within the travelerring 48 and the, thread line passing from the empty bobbin to the fullbobbin 42 is pulled taut by virtue. of the fact that the full bobbin isstill being driven. the two bobbins causes the line to break, whereuponthe yarn continuesto be wound upon the newly started bobbinreciprocating within the traveler ring 48.

In order to remove the full bobbin, the solenoid 56' (FTGURE, 1) is nowenergized by conventional means (not shown) and the bifurcated finger 60moves towards the right whereupon the beveled edge of the finger slidesbeneath the lower portion of the spindle assembly 44' to lift thisassembly out of engagement with the apex 3d of the shaft 24. Thusdisconnected, the full bobbin 42 ceases to rotate and can be easilyremoved by the operator and replaced by an empty bobbin. The solenoid56' is then deenergized to withdrawn the bifurcated finger 6th and thenewly inserted bobbin is placed in frictional engagernent with the apex30' so as to begin rotation therewith.

When the previously empty bobbin 42 becomes full, the above describedoperation is repeated so as to provide a substantially continuoustransfer of yarn from full bobbin to empty bobbin.

In summary, there has been disclosed an apparatus for transferring yarnfrom a full bobbin to an empty bobbin in a drawtwist machine whereuponsaid full bobbin may be removed and replaced by an empty bobbin withoutrequiring the cessation of the yarn feed.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the This stress on thethread line passing between present invention are possible in the lightof the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that withinthe scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A yarn Winding apparatus, comprising a base, a traveler ring mountedon the base, a turntable movably mounted on the base, a bobbin holderrotatably mounted on the turntable, a driven gear carried by theturntable and connected to the bobbin holder, an elongated driving gearrotatably mounted on the base and meshed with the driven gear, means onthe base for actuating the elongated gear to drive the bobbin holder,means on the base for rotating the turntable to align the bobbin holdercoaxially with the traveler ring, and means on the base forreciprocating the turntable relative to the traveler ring.

2. A bobbin transfer device for twisting apparatus that comprises astationary traveler ring, a turntable, a pair of bobbins on saidturntable, means to rotate said turntable to align either of saidbobbins in coaxially spaced relation with said ring, means vertically toreciprocate said turntable and bobbins whereby there is imparted tosaidaligned bobbin a relative traversing movement within said ring, andmeans to rotate said bobbins.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said means to rotate said bobbinscomprises single drive means, and including means to independently haltrotation of either bobbin.

4. A bobbin transfer device for twisting apparatus that comprises astationary traveler ring, a turntable, a pairof bobbins mounted on saidturntable at opposite sides thereof for axial rotation, means to rotate.said turntable to align either of said bobbins in coaxially spacedrelation with said ring, means vertically to reciprocate said turntableand bobbins whereby there is imparted to said aligned bob-bin a relativetraversing movement within said ring and means to rotate said bobbins.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said bobbins are frictionally mountedon shafts for axial rotation therewith, and including means to disengageeither of said bobbins from said shafts selectively tohaltrotation ofsaid bobbins.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein said means to rotate said turntableincludes a ring gear attached to said turntable and independentlyactuated gear means adapted to engage said ring gear for movementthereof.

7. A bobbin transfer device for twisting apparatus that comprises astationary traveler ring, a turntable, a pair of bobbins on saidturntable, means to rotate said turntable to align either of saidbobbins in coaxially spaced relation with said ring, means vertically toreciprocate said turntable and. bobbins whereby there is imparted tosaid aligned bobbin a relative traversing movement of said bobbin withinsaid ring, means to rotate said bobbins, means to feed yarn through saidtraveler ring onto said bobbin in traversing relationship with saidring, means to lower said bobbins beneath said ring when said alignedbobbin is fully wound to permit rotation of said turntable, alignment ofan empty bobbin and removal of said fully wound bobbin.

8. A bobbin transfer device, comprising a, base, a. traveler ringmounted above the base, a turntable mounted for rotation on the base, apair of shafts rotatably mounted on the turntable, a pair of bobbinholders mounted on the shafts, said bobbin holders being slidablymounted for movement into and out of frictional driving engagement withthe shafts, a pair of driven gears attached to the shafts andc'arried bythe turntable, an elongated gear meshed with the driven gears, means onthe base for rotating the elongated gear to drive the bobbin holders,means on the base for moving the turntable to move the bobbin holdersfrom a transfer position to an operative position, a ring gear attachedto the turntable, means on the base for engaging the ring gear to rotatethe turntable when said turntable is in said transfer position, means onthe turntable moving means for locking the turntable against rotationwhen said turntable is in the operative position, one of said bobbinholders being positioned in concentric relationship with the travelerring when the turntable is in said operative position, and means forcontrolling the turntable moving means to reciprocate the turntable whensaid turntable is in the operative position.

9. A bobbin transfer device, comprising a base, a traveler ring mountedabove the base, a vertical toothed shaft rotatably mounted on the base,means on the base for driving the toothed shaft, a turntable movablymounted on the base, a pair of shafts mounted on the turntable atopposite sides thereof and having conical portions, a pair of bobbinholders mounted on the shafts and adapted to engage the conical portionsthereof in frictional engagement so that said bobbin holders are rotatedby the shafts, a pair of driven gears carried by the turntable andmeshed with the toothed shaft for actuating the bobbin holders, aplurality of fluid cylinders attached to the base, a plurality ofvertical rods connected to the pistons of the fluid cylinders, anannular plate secured to the upper ends of the rods for engaging theturntable to raise and lower said turntable, a ring gear attached to theturntable, means on the base for engaging the ring gear and rotating theturntable to align one of the bobbin holders coaxially with the traveferring when said turntable is in a lowermost position, means on theannular plate for locking the turntable against rotation when saidturntable is moved out of said lowermost position, means on theturntable for selectively elevating the bobbin holders out of engagementwith the conical portions of the shafts to stop the rotation of saidbobbin holders, and means for controlling the fluid cylinders toreciprocate the turntable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,367,893 Rittenhouse Feb. 8, 1921 1,670,580 Kerwin May 22, 19282,511,928 Mansfield et a1. June 20, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,103,559France May 25, 1955

